Paula was a well-regarded member of the Texas Law Review. In fact, her paper, “Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine and the Circumforaneous Litigant,” not only received an “outstanding note” award from the outgoing editorial board of the Texas Law Review, it was selected for publication by the incoming editorial board of the Review (Texas Law Review, April 2007, Volume 85, Number 5) as well.

Professional Background

Prior to joining Slack & Davis, Paula, an accredited Spanish-to-English translator, ran a successful translation practice, assisting companies with oil & gas and other energy-related business in Central and South America. As a translator, she had a unique opportunity to address legal issues and concerns frequently raised in commercial transactions.

Representative Work (cases)

Because of the national scope of Slack & Davis’ aviation practice in particular, Paula has developed extensive experience in both federal court and multi-state practice. She is especially well-versed in analyzing, briefing and resolving such complex issues as forum non conveniens, choice-of-law considerations and disputes, Montreal and Warsaw convention interpretations, federal jurisdiction questions and Daubert analyses.

Most recently, she was selected to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Community Health Systems data breach litigation, a consolidated class action pending in the Northern District of Alabama before District Judge Karon O. Bowdre against Community Health Systems, Inc. (“CHS”), which owns and operates 206 hospitals in 29 states throughout the country. The action alleges that CHS failed to implement and follow basic cybersecurity procedures, rendering patients’ sensitive information, including their names, addresses, credit card numbers and social security numbers, accessible to hackers and financial predators such as identity thieves.

Other presentations / papers include “Recent Developments in Aviation and Space Law“* which is co-authored with Diane Meyers. It is featured in the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Winter 2010 issue. *This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

Professional and Community Activities

American Association for Justice

Federal Bar Association

American Bar Association

Austin Bar Association

Dallas Bar Association

Texas Trial Lawyers Association

Travis County Women Lawyers Association

Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association

In addition to her active practice at Slack & Davis, Paula is committed to supporting the heroic efforts of Volunteer Legal Services (VLS) of Austin on behalf of low-income individuals who would otherwise be denied the benefit of legal representation. She has achieved successful outcomes on behalf of VLS clients and hopes to continue to do so in the future.

Recognition

Robert W. Calvert American Inn of Court, whose mission is “to foster excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility and legal skills for practitioners, judges and professors in order to enhance the quality, availability and efficiency of justice in the United States.”